Beyond the Classroom: Video Conferencing with Peers & Experts

Beyond the Classroom: Video Conferencing with Peers & Experts I’m very taken with LOTI (levels of technology integration). LOTICONNECTION.COM. It reminds us of why we are using technology, not for its own sake (the complaint that many of my peers had about Will Richardson’s evangelism.) but rather, LOTI reminds us to integrate into technology for the purpose of learning and teaching. Specifically, I’m interested in Levels 5 & 6, which have us move teaching and learning beyond the classroom and into real world experiences.

One set of tools that I think can help us achieve LOTI levels 5 & 6 is video conferencing and synchronous collaboration tools. Examples of real time video conferencing include Vidyo, Polycom, Tandberg/Cisco. Examples of synchronous collaboration tools include Adobe Connect, WebEx, Blackboard Collaborate.

For this blog, the distinction that I’m making between Real Time video conferencing is that video conferencing focuses on the VIDEO and has a one – to – one or few-to-few where the face to face interaction has priority. The synchronous collaboration tools focus on communications and collaboration tools – chat, polls etc where it’s a one to many, and while interaction is encouraged, the interaction is from the many is text based and from the one is audio based.

My preferred tools are Vidyo (because its desktop high definition without requiring special end user hardware) and Adobe Connect (features are excellent). Yes, there are free tools – skype, big blue button and others… I believe that the commercial products are still superior today. However, the free tools are good enough. Without disrupting the traditional classroom, teachers can bring real world experience into the classroom, thereby extending t & l beyond the classroom walls.

I want to go through a few examples of how these tools reach levels 5 & 6 of the LOTI model. PreK students: Experts in the Sociology of Education know that parental involvement is the most important factor in student success. Yet, with single parent families, with working parents, how do we connect parents into their children’s schooling. Using real time video conferencing and streaming in a protected environment (password required), parents can peak into their PreK children’s play and learn time. Imagine a 15 minute stream of a class session can help parents feel more intimately connected to their students.

Middle School Students: Just around the time hormones start raging, school gets boring. What better way to engage our children’s intellect and curiosity than by making connections to peer groups from around the world. Imagine studying the American Revolution in NJ and having a class-to-class video conference with a 7th grade class in England. The 21st century tools – broadening beyond one’s own provincial understanding of history by engaging with the English perspective. In this environment, with video conferencing, history can come alive. (And, parents can view some of the sessions to increase their involvement in their middle school students’ lives.)

High School Students: DNA. A teacher can have their students watch Jurasic Park (movie), while learning about DNA in Biology class. Then students could have a real time conversation with a bio-ethicist at Rutgers University to discuss what is possible and what is ethical. To excite a student’s love for biology by connecting with working biologists and ethicists, can change a student’s life.

These examples all used real time video conferencing (without any special equipment in the classroom other than a PC, web cam, speakers and a LCD). When used during classtime, the video experience and interaction is most important. It mimics a one-to-one (one class to one class / one class to one expert etc). The high quality video and audio are vital to the success of the experience. A tool like Vidyo is perfect.

Both Vidyo and Adobe Connect allow one to share their desktop, show powerpoints, videos and more. But if this was conducted outside of class time (perhaps an online college course) where each student is a separate location instead of in one classroom. Then the synchronous collaboration tools are more appropriate. When there are more than 6 end users at different locations then the tools such as chat, raising hand, polls etc are invaluable.

Not only do these tools make learning more interactive and more engaging, it gives them the skills that will be increasing required in the work world.